President Biden, 79, has tested positive for COVID-19, but he is said to have mild symptoms and is on the drug Paxlovid, an antiviral drug from Pfizer, as a precaution. Also, those who have been in close contact with the president in recent days have been advised and told to quarantine.
White House officials acknowledge it is business as usual, and the president, who is vaccinated and double boosted, is still working; however, he tested positive on the day he was set to focus on policing and attend a fundraiser in Pennsylvania. He was expected to leave those events and travel home to Delaware for the weekend. Now those plans have changed as he is quarantining from home. Biden’s last negative COVID-19 was Tuesday.
“I think this should not be an issue. He is one of the strongest people I know. He works 12 and 14-hour days every day. I expect him to continue to do that, but in a safe manner,” said Cedric Richmond, former senior adviser to the president. TheGrio spoke to Richmond moments after he learned of the president’s COVID-19 positive diagnosis.
According to the CDC, COVID-19 is still an issue as many parts of the nation are marked as having a medium or high virus community level.
“If you’re in an area that’s orange and there’s a lot of infections, then the better part of valor, if you really want to be safe, is to wear a mask indoors. If you’re of the mindset that you’re saying, ‘I don’t want to wear a mask. I want to just go maskless.’ Fine. That’s not a good thing to do from a public health standpoint, but nobody’s going to force you to put a mask on,” Dr. Anthony Fauci explained to theGrio in May.
Biden is not alone in his COVID-positive status. January 6th Select Committee Chair Bennie Thompson is unable to attend Thursday night’s hearing as he is quarantining and recovering from COVID. And in April, Vice President Kamala Harris was diagnosed with COVID. She was photographed during her quarantine working. She was said to have mild symptoms. Currently, the vice president has tested negative.
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Fauci, who plans to leave his post at the end of Biden’s presidential term, strongly relays, “When you don’t know what the status of people are in [in] congregate settings…wear a mask!”
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